Wes Moore slams Baltimore Sun as ‘right-wing’ ahead of exposé story

Before The Baltimore Sun published part of its reported investigation into Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s record, the Democratic state leader and his team were already criticizing the paper’s new owner as “right-wing” and cozy with President Donald Trump.

The Baltimore Sun, which was acquired by Sinclair chairman David D. Smith in 2024, is reportedly reviewing Moore’s military record, academic athletic career and other parts of his past. As Semaphore reported earlier this week, A report suggesting the Sun was recruiting investigative reporters from sister organizations under the Sinclair umbrella.

“It’s actually a very sad day because the Baltimore Sun was our newspaper of record. Now it’s become the newspaper of the right wing,” Moore told former Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a recent interview, after Psaki noted that the Sun was being purchased by Smith in 2024.

Moore, who has downplayed talks of a 2028 presidential bid, had faced scrutiny before receiving the award for listing a Bronze Star on a Bush-era White House scholarship application and faced questions about the depth of his Baltimore roots when he runs against the then-government in 2022. Larry Hogan. Moore was finally awarded the Bronze Star in 2024.

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“[Y]now you have a MAGA billionaire out for good [President Donald Trump] “We’re using a newspaper that used to be valuable to our area, and now we’re turning it into something that is nothing but right-wing nonsense,” Moore said.

The governor added that the Army members he served with did not question his integrity in the same way and that Smith was the “canary in the coal mine” for wealthy conservatives trying to use their resources, including using the media, to please Trump.

The interview culminated in a lengthy rebuttal from the managing editor of the Smith-affiliated publication, who investigated Moore: Spotlight on Maryland. The launch is a collaboration between the Sinclair-owned FOX affiliate in Baltimore, the ABC affiliate in Washington and the Sun.

Spotlight on Maryland executive editor “Democrats certainly go to great lengths to discredit a show before it even airs. That alone should raise a question: why?” Candy Woodall tweetedHe captions Moore’s interview.

Woodall claimed that Moore’s office threatened to distribute the files to “all media reporters” to try to discredit the investigation.

“We saw the same playbook in 2022 when a FOX-45 reporter asked why Moore allowed allegations that he had received a Bronze Star, which he did not have at the time. His team accused the reporter and the media outlet of bias and a smear campaign,” he wrote.

“Two years later, the narrative changed after the New York Times reported that Moore had not received the Bronze Star, and the governor said it was an ‘honest mistake.’ In an August 2024 statement about his military record, Moore acknowledged that he knew he had not received the award before he left Afghanistan.”

In his statement, Moore said his deputy brigade commander encouraged him to apply for the White House scholarship and also recommended him for the Bronze Star and told him to include it in his application.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore during an announcement at the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House on Friday, January 16, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg)

He added that in his officer evaluation, his superiors placed him in the top 1% of Operation Enduring Freedom officers and called him “the best lieutenant I have ever encountered…” and later stated that he “sincerely wished he could.”[ed he] “I came back to correct the grade on my application.”

Woodall once again backtracked on his tweet, saying his reporters’ loyalty was to Marylanders, not officials, and that his staff had sent “hundreds” of questions to Moore and his team, to which he responded poorly.

He claimed that a Moore official agreed that Spotlight did not deserve to be treated like a news outlet and that “nothing coming out of Sinclair should be taken seriously.”

“If you want to learn more, keep reading The Baltimore Sun, a 200-year-old newspaper that has survived many governors,” he joked.

When asked for a response, Moore press secretary Ammar Moussa told Fox News Digital: “To what extent is Sinclair owner and Donald Trump ally David Smith’s influence in the FOX-45 and Baltimore Sun newsrooms in light of revelations that Sinclair owner and Trump donor David Smith has personally appeared in Spotlight on Maryland’s coverage?”

He also said Spotlight reporter Gary Collins was “not a journalist” and directed Fox News Digital to an X response to Collins criticizing him as a former Maryland Republican Party official “working at the direction of your Trump-supporting boss.”

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“I will continue to report the facts, just as my colleagues do,” Collins said.

Collins also released a report on a March 26 roundtable meeting that Moore attended near a warehouse in Washington County that was rumored to be an ICE facility.

Collins’ piece noted Moore’s complaint about the feds’ “lack of transparency” and compared it to what he said was a similar dynamic in Annapolis.

“[Moore’s] The administration has yet to release full documentation of his military history, academic history and previous credentials — records that Spotlight On Maryland has requested for months,” Collins wrote, noting that Sun co-owner and Moore friend Armstrong Williams penned an op-ed calling on the governor to “tell the truth and reveal the facts.”

Moussa also took aim at Woodall, asking her if Smith was behind her lengthy tweet.

“Did your Trump-supporting boss write this? Or is he just monitoring your emails?” Moses said.

Smith previously ruffled some feathers on the left when Sinclair filmed “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” From the lineup following the controversial comic’s response to the murder of Charlie Kirk. Sinclair is reportedly the largest owner of affiliates of the ABC network that employs Kimmel.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Sinclair and Smith for additional comment on Friday.